hockeydude

^ wow.

azmi951

I got an Escort 8500 x50 (top of the line) as a gift from my father (who has an SR7 with Jamming) Having used both a V1 and Escort it is a toss up. They are both excellent and I know the escort has a TON of range. In Texas I gat a cop a mile away

ApexCars

Both the Escort and the V1 are great detectors. I think the V1 has a bit of a cult following because when it came out it was by far the best and because they were harder to get than most brands. I like the escort due to the size and looks. I don't really see the point of the arrows on the V1. I am going to slow down when it goes off, not look to see which arrows are lit and then decide if I should slow down. Maybe people who have used them alot can enlighten me to the advantages of the arrows.

gmsracing

V1 all the way. Once you drive with the arrows & bogie counter you never will buy another detector without them again.

It's true that in any detector that once it goes off you will slow down without looking at the arrows. The arrows are valuable AFTER you slow down. You can:
1. Monitor a light signal. It will pick up a signal in the front, switch to the side, and then change to the rear as you pass it. You know exactly where the threat is coming from.
2. Monitor a rear signal. If you get a rear signal you can actually "see" cops drive up behind you. Same in the front. If you didn't have the arrow you may think you are getting periferal signals or false signals from other detectors.
3. If you get shot from the side, you can defend yourselft that radar doesn't work that well shot perpendicularily. (Dopler effect.)

It also detects the number of signals. One time I got a "2" up arrow signal. I came up around the bend and saw one cop. A little ways down the road I saw another cop. The arrows pointed up front AND behind at that point. If I had seen the first cop I may have said, "back on the throttle!" and gotten anolther ticket.

It also recognizes other poor detectors "junk." It's super annoying when there is someone driving around you that has a piece of crap that is sending out a signal. The V1 lets you know so you don't have to be parinoid about it.

Basically, driving without the arrows is driving blind. You never know where it is coming from so you never feel completely sure that the threat has left or where it is coming from. The more information you have, the better decision you can make.

I actually want to purchase anther one so I don't have to change it from car to car.

gmsracing

If one purchases a detector based upon it's looks you are buying for the wrong reasons. You might as well put an I-pod on your dash because it looks better than a V1.

nize

any review by a site that SELLS THE PRODUCT THEY REVIEW is not a valid review because it will obviously be biased.

radarbusters SELLS ESCORT. you can only buy valentine1 directly from valentine.

of course radarbusters will say the valentine1 sucks since it means more profit for them in escort sales.

also, bel and escort is made by the same company, so it's really the same product.

User 41221

Not bashing anyone else's experience with the Escort, but when I had a brand new 8500 and a brand new V1 in my car, trying them out, the Escort didn't even come close. I currently have two V-1's (one for me, one for my wife) and am sold on them.

As for the arrows, they really do help determine what kind of threat you are dealing with, which can eliminate a bunch of unneccesary paranoia when you have a box squawking/flashing at you. Trust me, if you drive with arrows for a bit, you will feel very naked without them.

Regards,

nize

i think people are missing the most important feature of valentine, which is that in two or more years, when they come out with a 'better' model, you can send yours in and upgrade it. this basically makes your detector never obsolete.

no other detector company offers this service.

ApexCars

gmsracing -- If all the tests I read said that an Ipod performed as well as a radar detector as any of the others, then yes, I would put an Ipod up there and have lots of tunes along with radar protection. Quit saying stupid *** ****!

The Escort also lets you know what's zapping you. In expert mode it displays a seperate graph for the strength of each radar hitting you. The graph shows the band and the strength for up to 8 sources on screen and tracks up to 16 sources. It shows the 8 biggest threats on the graph. It doesn't show the direction though.

As far as reviews of the products - take a look at this http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9090 It's a very informative site with good info and extensive testing. They also don't sell radar detectors so you don't have to worry about their objectivity.

eclou

Radartest is well known to be a crock of sh*t. The author Craig Peterson has a personal beef with Mike Valentine. Peterson demands money from the manufacturers to test their products. Valentine refuses to pay, and thus Radartest is the only report out there that doesn't show the V1 creaming all the other competition. Just FYI.

tmichael928

Buy a small Radio Shack detector & wire it to the third light and mount it upside and pointed behind you & down.You can see the indicators in your rearview mirror. Put a new dector the most expensive you can afford updated often in the front by the rearview mirror pointed forward and wire it to the light. Install a gps unit and record critical points of interest on a non interstate route you can drive often. The whole setup is less than $1500. I have no moving violations to date with this setup. My wife and I "visit Vegas from the Tahoe area" to quickly stretch the 928's legs as they say.

BC

Beat me to it.

nize

this is fine and dandy if you have lots of time on your hands. in the real world, you have two or three seconds to respond to an alert, so this is mostly a useless 'fluff' feature. the v1 does differentiate between the different bands both visually (different LED's) and audibly (different sounds/frequencies) so you can instantly tell what the immediate threat is. you don't have to waste time trying to read a graph to try to figure out what's hitting you. time is important here, and relaying the most critical information in the shortest time is what the v1 is all about. combined with the directional arrows, i can tell what's hitting me and where it is within half a second of the alarm going off on the v1.

this is a crock of sh*t review. i would go so far as to say any review that compares the latest bel and escort is suspicious, as they are the same detector. read this for more;
http://www.valentine1.com/lab/V1Hater.asp

also, if anyone knows what they're talking about, they'll know that the v1 has changed over the years. in fact not only does the v1 change every time there's a new threat out (ie; laser), they let you send your old v1 in and upgrade to the latest and greatest for a discount. this is probably the single most important thing to me, as i don't like to see my initial investment become useless over time. good luck with your escort in two years, when cops start using laser5 (or whatever), while i'll simply upgrade my v1 and be able to detect laser5.

BlueRiver86

V1, i've never gotten a ticket.

EdC

I concur with everything said positive about the V1's arrows, indicators, etc. The volume control and mute work extremey well. The upgrade feature is also pretty neat. Once when I was going to upgrade for about $80 or so, V1 advised me that it really wasn't worth it as the change was merely a convenience feature and did not affect its ability to detect. How's that for straightforward advice from a vendor. Would you expect that from the other makers? Nope. I can't recall getting a ticket in the last ten years that the V1 could have prevented and didn't. It has a shorter range for laser, but in traffic the warning time is sufficient. If alone on the highway, laser or instant on radar is the biggest risk of getting nailed. Find a "rabbit" and follow it and have it run interference. I have had many rabbits nailed and I slowed and cruised by unnoticed. In the real world the V1 works great, and unless the radar changes, I see no need for improvement. Besides it has been $400 FOREVER with seemingly no price increase ever.
Buy what you want, but I'd consider buying nothing else.